Spurs Uefa Cup bye confirmed as Feyenoord lose court case

Tottenham's walkover into the last 16 of the Uefa Cup was confirmed yesterday by the Lausanne-based Court of Arbitration for Sport in Switzerland.

The Dutch club Feyenoord, who had originally been drawn against Spurs in the third round this month, had approached the highest sports appeal body after being expelled from the competition and fined £41,000 by the European federation.

The decision, imposed originally for crowd trouble in Nancy last November, is a bonus for Tottenham. Their manager, Martin Jol, said: "We would have been happy to play but we've had a tremendous number of games in all competitions in the last three months, so it's an advantage to have a rest and some quality time on the training pitch."

Scotland must wait until next week before finding out the venue for their Euro 2008 qualifier against Italy. The Italian federation had originally selected the southern city of Bari. However, the Stadio San Nicola is among 25 venues whose security facilities have been declared inadequate by checks following the death of a policeman at last week's Sicily derby between Catania and Palermo.

Uefa has opened negotiations with the Scottish FA about the transfer of its chief executive, David Taylor, who is wanted by the European federation to succeed Lars-Christer Olsson. The Swede left Uefa last week after his mentor, Lennart Johansson, was ousted as president by Michel Platini.

Seven members of China's Olympic squad have gone home after a brawl at a match on Wednesday against Queens Park Rangers. However, a spokesman blamed domestic club needs, not the fighting which forced the game to be abandoned.

Bolton have agreed the summer transfer signings of FC Zurich's Switzerland midfielder Blerim Dzemaili, 20, and the Bordeaux central defender Gerald Cid. The West Bromwich defender Steve Watson has joined Sheffield Wednesday on loan until the end of the season.

Dennis Wise, the manager of Leeds, has denied a Football Association charge of improper conduct after being ordered out of his technical area during last month's home league defeat by West Bromwich.